URL vs. IRL Ministry
Why your spiritual diet needs local ingredients
Hey, you! Feeling adventurous and opening yet another newsletter? You are the Indiana Jones of the inbox! and you’ve uncovered another hidden treasure. In this (six-minute) issue, we apply our issues of space and place to the local church.
In the pursuit of faithful ministry, Christians must balance
adherence to eternal, unchanging truths (space) with
their application in time-bound, shifting local contexts (place).
This balance involves navigating the dual aspects of space and place—universal principles and specific, contextual applications.
In this issue, we apply some of these more abstract concepts to local church ministry by considering two illustrations. The first illustration represents a potential danger that can arise from neglecting these issues, while the second illustration presents an opportunity for local churches to seize.
DANGER: SELF-DIAGNOSING PATIENTS
The first illustration is the website WebMD: a vast online repository of medical knowledge for internet users. It serves many purposes, but the most popular feature is the symptom checker. Simply enter your symptoms, and WebMD, drawing from its immense database, proposes a diagnosis. Remember, this website doesn’t know you; it can’t see you. Its “knowledge” is limited to the information you provide.
As you might imagine, not all corners of the medical community embrace WebMD. Patients often arrive at their doctor’s office with their own website-generated diagnoses, demanding specific medications. This, of course, isn’t how traditional medicine operates. There is a vast gulf between self-diagnosis via a medically-inclined website and a diagnosis from a trained professional. The doctor sees you, asks questions, and forms an informed opinion based on that direct interaction. There’s simply no comparison.
With our distinctions in mind, consider WebMD in the ethereal “space” of data and algorithms, while your local doctor plants firm roots in the “place” of community and lived experience.
A family doctor who’s seen generations pass might know your family’s heart history not from a questionnaire, but from treating your father and uncles for high cholesterol decades ago.
Or, if your Friday night ritual includes devouring mountains of barbecued red meat in the local diner, only a local doctor woven into the fabric of your life could gather such nuanced context.
WebMD may boast terabytes of medical facts, but it can’t replicate the rich tapestry of patient insight that comes from being a local doctor.
A similar dynamic plays out in Christian ministry. Some of my go-to online resources, like Desiring God and the Gospel Coalition, exist in that intangible “space” of the internet. Their reach extends far and wide, rather than being tied to a specific location. And, just like with WebMD, Christians can turn to these online spaces for personal guidance—seeking pastoral counsel in the digital ether.
But here’s the thing: an internet ministry, no matter how insightful, cannot replicate the depth and nuance of real-life pastoral care within the “place” of a local church.
My pastor(s) knows my face and my family. They’ve seen my commitment to worship, my involvement in our church community, and the ebb and flow of my faith journey. Just as a family doctor understands the broader context of my health concerns, so too my pastor grasps the larger context surrounding my spiritual health and struggles. An internet ministry offers valuable resources, but there’s no substitute for the knowledgeable wisdom and personalized guidance of a local pastor who walks with you on your unique path.
Christians should not attempt to pastor themselves. But that is the temptation that faces them when they use abstract ministry resources (space) to the neglect of the faithful local churches and faithful church leaders that see them and know them (place).
OPPORTUNITY: LOCAL HONEY
Instead of warning signs and red flags, let’s consider a sweet opportunity—the illustration of local honey. I have a friend here in Louisville who suffers from the allergies so many people in Louisville face. He visited an allergist to create a treatment plan for his discomfort. As part of the plan they developed, the allergist suggested that my friend eat more local honey.
His allergist says that consuming local honey may help alleviate seasonal allergies. Since local honey contains small amounts of pollen from local plants, regular exposure to these tiny pollen doses could gently train your immune system, desensitizing it to the pollen and reducing seasonal allergy symptoms.
It might seem obvious, but surprisingly few people realize that local honey is born from nearby bees diligently gathering pollen from local flowers. Likewise, again stating the obvious: The jar of honey in my pantry is from CALIFORNIA. That’s made from Californian bees and Californian flowers! Consuming that Californian honey might build your tolerance to Californian pollen, but if your home isn’t in California, you’re not building tolerance to the allergens where you actually live. That’s the rationale, say some allergists, behind eating local honey for seasonal allergy relief.
In a similar way, I think the metaphor can help us understand the benefits of participating in local ministry. While I’ve been discussing internet ministries as residing in “space,” it is also helpful to consider them localized within specific “places.”
Desiring God, along with its affiliated ministries, blossomed from the rich soil of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This unique place—boasting college degrees for over 30% of its population and graduate degrees for over 20%—has profoundly shaped their values. In Minneapolis, education reigns supreme, so it’s no surprise that a church led by a New Testament professor like John Piper would thrive. With its array of seminars and conferences, books and lectures, Desiring God and Bethlehem Baptist Church offers “Minneapolis honey”—sweet and deeply informed by their local context.
Pastor John MacArthur and his “Grace to You” ministry have been firmly rooted in California soil for nearly forty years. He has shepherded people in that place for decades, helping many grow in godliness and faith, and guiding those who have been burned by charismatic and Pentecostal ministries in that area. California’s liberal leanings have also shaped his interactions with the state government and cultural trends. It is important to see how Pastor MacArthur’s ministry has been profoundly shaped by those contexts. This unique context, like Californian honey, is both sweet and potent, and its influence on MacArthur’s work is undeniable.
As a third example, consider the ministry of Pastor Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City. This ministry has thrived within the global city of New York, a hub for financial and cultural activity around the world. The growth of this ministry can be attributed to faithful gospel work within the specific place of Manhattan. The context has significantly contributed to the flavor, the terroir, of the ministry. Pastor Keller would not have been faithful to the Lord Jesus if he had not ministered in the location where he was called. So, Redeemer Presbyterian’s ministry speaks with an unmistakable New York accent ("Fuggedaboutit!"), emanating from their engagement with the city’s heart.
It’s crucial for each Christian to consider their place and ponder their “pollen.” Are there pollens in the air that are affecting our faith? Are there real spiritual difficulties in our context that we need to be aware of and protected from? This is where local church ministry (forgive the flower metaphor!) blossoms with indispensable value. Perhaps your local pastor cannot preach sermons with the rhetorical exultation of John Piper, the exegetical precision of John MacArthur, or the cultural savvy of Tim Keller. But there’s an irreplaceable sweetness in “honey” made from your own local flowers.
Good pastors, like diligent bees, hum through your city, gathering pollen from the joys and struggles of your community. They craft this into “sermon honey”—maybe not Californian sunshine-sweet, but precisely made to nourish the souls in the hive of your local church.
Love this! Thank you, Dr. Westerholm.